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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25220944">And Here Everyone Knows You’re the Way to My Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/emotionalism/pseuds/emotionalism'>emotionalism</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SKAM (France)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Pining, mayla</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:34:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,360</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25220944</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/emotionalism/pseuds/emotionalism</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Maya and Lola broke up in Mercredi 16h04, they don’t get back together right away.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lola Lecomte/Maya Etienne, Maya Etienne/Lola Lecomte</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Train Tracks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Part two of my quest to make Lola Lecomte/Maya Etienne a common relationship tag.</p><p>The title is from “Punisher” by Phoebe Bridgers because I’m obsessed.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hi,” Lola said, her voice small. Maya was standing in front of her, looking pretty and smiling at Lola with her small, half-smirk that Lola loved.</p><p>“I’ve missed you,” Maya said. </p><p>Lola had been in rehab for the past couple of months. </p><p>“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Lola had said to Maya over the phone, a few days after the Friday night when everyone was looking for her. “I’m going back to the hospital. And I’m sorry... for worrying you, for everything.”</p><p>“It’s okay, Lola,” Maya had said. “I’m proud of you.”</p><p>That was the last time she had talked to Maya. Until now.</p><p>“Hey!” Jo yelled, throwing a dirty old tennis ball she found on the floor at Lola. “I didn’t invite you here to stand around and stare at each other. Let’s move it, people!”</p><p>Maya laughed, and Lola felt her pulse quicken. Lola had thought that maybe her feelings had faded. She was wrong. But she knew that it was different now, that months had passed and Maya had probably moved on. </p><p>“Well, shall we?” Maya asked, nodding her head towards Jo, Max, and Sekou, who were standing in front of abandoned train tracks.</p><p> Lola nodded, beginning to walk over to them. </p><p>“How are you? How was... it?” Maya asked as they started walking down the tracks, a few paces behind the rest of the group.</p><p>“Unless you don’t want to talk about it, of course,” she added quickly.</p><p>“No, I can talk about it,” Lola responded. “It was okay actually. I think I actively tried this time, unlike last time. It was different. Like, last time I felt... I don’t know... abandoned, maybe? As if my family just didn’t want to deal with me, so they sent me there. But I went voluntarily this time, and I know my family and everyone just wanted me to get better. So, yeah. It was okay.”</p><p>“I’m happy for you,“ Maya paused. “Happy that it helped and it wasn’t bad.” Her arm unconsciously reached out like she was going to grab Lola’s hand, but then she stopped and dropped it to her side. Lola didn’t notice.</p><p>They had entered a tunnel. It was dark and dusty, and Lola could barely see anything, even with her flashlight. </p><p>“Do you know where they went?” Lola asked, moving her flashlight around to try and make out any figures in the distance.</p><p>“No, not really,” Maya said. “Maybe they-“</p><p>“BOO!” Jo and Max screamed, coming out from behind some debris.</p><p>Maya yelled, dropping her flashlight, and Lola jumped, her heart racing.</p><p>“Ay, we got you!” Jo shrieked, cackling.</p><p>“It was her idea,” Max said, feigning innocence but laughing to himself nonetheless.</p><p>As Lola’s heart was calming down, she realized that she had jumped back towards Maya, and she was leaning against her chest. She could feel Maya’s breath against her neck and her arms had grabbed Lola’s waist reflexively, and now Lola’s heart rate was back up.</p><p>“I, um,” Lola said, turning to face Maya and stepping away from her. “Sorry.”</p><p>“No worries,” Maya said. Their flashlights were weak and dying, but Lola could swear Maya’s cheeks were a little flushed. Not that it mattered. They were friends now. Friends.</p><p>“Okay, are you guys done?” Sekou asked, his voice slightly exasperated.</p><p>“Yes, of course! Anything for Sekou, our great scholar and guide,” Jo said, dramatically bowing. “Tell us more about the history of these dirty train tracks.”</p><p>“I will!” Sekou said, smiling brightly. “Forty years ago...” </p><p>“Can you hold this for me?” Maya asked as Sekou continued talking, holding out her flashlight.</p><p>“Yeah, sure,” Lola said. She reached out to grab it, her fingers brushing against Maya’s.</p><p>“Thanks,” Maya said, taking off her backpack and getting out the map. “We probably should be using this more.”</p><p>Lola nodded absentmindedly, staring at the ground and thinking about how she was going to be able to be Maya’s friend if she could barely keep it together when Maya touched her. </p><p>They explored the train tracks for the next hour, looking at all of the old graffiti and carvings in the walls. When they finished, Jo wanted to go hang out at Maya’s apartment.</p><p>“Come on,” Jo said, pleading. “It‘ll be fun, promise!”</p><p>They were all standing next to the fence that they had just climbed under, the one that was blocking the tracks from the public. The sun was starting to set, and it painted their skin pink. </p><p>“Crazy how you can just invite everyone over to my place without even asking me,” Maya said, her eyebrows raised.</p><p>“Shhhh, we can pretend this was your idea,” Jo said smiling. Maya rolled her eyes, but reluctantly agreed.</p><p>“I think I’m just going to go back to my house, guys,” Lola said. Lola didn’t want to go back to Maya’s apartment just yet. It was full of memories, full of Maya. The last time Lola was there, she felt so happy. Now, she didn’t know how she would feel, and she didn’t want to find out just yet.</p><p>“No!” Jo whined. </p><p>“You have to come!” said Sekou. “We’ve missed having you around.”</p><p>“My dad’s waiting for me,” Lola lied, running her hand through her hair and looking away to avoid their expectant eyes.</p><p>“We don’t want to get her in trouble,” Maya said. They nodded, understandingly.</p><p>They exchanged goodbyes. While Lola was walking away, she wanted to turn around, to say that she could actually stay with them. She had missed spending time with them. But  when she turned her head, she saw Maya watching her. When their eyes met, Lola felt a pang in her chest, and she remembered why she was leaving. Lola thought that maybe it would be best if she could avoid Maya, that her feelings would fade and she would be okay with just being friends. </p><p>“New plan,” Lola muttered to herself as she walked. “No Maya.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Supermarket</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lola’s plan to avoid Maya only lasted a few days.</p><p>Lola had found her way to the supermarket. Maya’s supermarket. She told herself it was because Daphné mentioned needing more pasta earlier that morning, but she knew the truth. She couldn’t stay away from Maya, and she didn’t think she actually wanted to either. Lola wanted to spend time with her, to try to be Maya’s friend, to talk to her even if all she was thinking about was kissing her.</p><p>Lola was sure Maya had already moved on — there was no chance that Maya, who once had a date on a Tuesday and a girlfriend by that Friday, was still hung up on her — and with time, Lola could move on too. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends while Lola waited for her feelings to subside.</p><p>Lola could see Maya at the cash register, smiling at the customers. Pasta in hand, she walked up.</p><p>“Lola,” Maya said, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the other girl. “Hi.”</p><p>“Hi,” Lola replied, her eyes drifting over Maya’s  face and landing on her lips. When she realized what she was doing, she quickly turned her head up.</p><p>“Do you want to buy that?” Maya asked after a beat of silence, laughing and nodding to the pasta in Lola’s hand.</p><p>“Oh! Yes, sorry,” Lola said, handing Maya the bag.</p><p>Maya took it from her and began ringing her up. She looked at the clock, and then looked back at Lola, pausing.</p><p>“My shift ends in twenty minutes,” she said. “Do you want to... I mean, you’re probably busy, but-“</p><p>“I can wait,” Lola said softly, giggling at Maya’s flustered speech. </p><p>“Great!” Maya said, a big smile spreading across her face. She moved her seat over a bit, motioning Lola over.</p><p>“Girl, I don’t want to get you fired,” Lola said, but she moved behind the counter to stand next to Maya regardless. Lola was beginning to sit on the floor when Maya grabbed her wrist to stop her, scooting over on her chair so they could both sit there. Lola’s eyes widened slightly, pausing before taking her half of the seat. Their bodies were flush against each other; if they got any closer, Lola would be sitting in Maya’s lap. Being this close to Maya was too much, but she didn’t want to move either. </p><p>“I should go get another chair,” Maya said, inhaling sharply when Lola repositioned herself on the stool.</p><p>“Yeah,” Lola laughed awkwardly, but neither of them moved.</p><p>“And don’t worry about my job,” Maya said, picking up on Lola’s earlier comment. “It’s late, and no one really comes here at night. Anyway, my boss is super easygoing. I’m pretty sure I could make out with you right here and I wouldn’t lose my job.”</p><p>Maya went red, realizing what she just said. </p><p>“Do you want to test that theory?” Lola joked, feeling strangely emboldened by Maya’s comment and her proximity to the purple-haired girl.</p><p>Now Maya was really red, and she was about to reply when an old lady with a full cart came up to them. </p><p>“Hmm, we probably shouldn’t then,” Lola said under her breath as Maya was helping the customer. Maya rolled her eyes and elbowed Lola in response, and Lola almost fell off their shared seat. The lady looked puzzled, shifting her eyes between the two of them, but didn’t say anything. She was the last customer of the night, so the rest of Lola and Maya‘s conversations went uninterrupted.</p><p>They finished the final minutes of Maya’s shift in silence, smiling softly at each other whenever one of them caught the other’s eyes.</p><p>“Three... two... one...” Maya counted, watching the seconds tick by. “Okay, I’m free.”</p><p>Lola got up first, picking up her coat from the floor. Maya followed suit, leaving to go get her things from the break room.</p><p>She came back wearing her letterman. Lola loved that jacket, even though she was almost certain Maya had never played a sport a day in her life. </p><p>“Do you want me to walk you home?” Lola asked, holding the door open for Maya as they exited the store. </p><p>“What if I want to walk you home?” Maya asked, grinning at Lola. </p><p>“Yours is closer,” Lola said, turning to start walking.</p><p>“Whatever you say,” Maya said. “But that’s the wrong way.”</p><p>She grabbed Lola’s jacket and gently pulled her in the opposite direction that Lola had been walking.</p><p>“To be fair, I’ve only been there twice,” Lola laughed. Her mind jumped to the last time she was there, to everything that happened that night, and she blushed. She looked over at Maya, who was smiling dreamily, maybe remembering the same night. </p><p>They walked side by side, the street lights illuminating their path and making Maya’s hair and eyes shine. The low and constant thrum of the insects chirping filled the spaces between their conversation. It was nice, being with Maya. </p><p>“You can come up,” Maya said, gesturing to the apartment building when they arrived. “If you want.”</p><p>“It’s a little late,” Lola said. “Maybe another time.”</p><p>Maya nodded.</p><p>“Goodnight, Lola,” Maya said. She took a step forward like she was going to hug Lola, but looked conflicted. Lola opened her arms, answering Maya’s unasked question.</p><p>Lola wrapped her arms around Maya, breathing her in and whispering her own farewell into the side of Maya’s neck. Maya squeezed her and then let her go, turning to enter the building.</p><p>Lola spent the first part of her own walk home thinking of Maya, and the second part convincing herself that that’s what friends do.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Party / The Run</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Continuing Mayla x light propaganda </p><p>Content warning for a mention of parental neglect</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A friend would feel happy right now. </p><p>A few hours earlier, Jo had texted Lola. There was another party at the racecourse. The lights and people still made Lola’s eyes widen, just a bit. She remembered the first time she came here, seeing the people flailing around to the music and feeling out of place. She remembered how Maya walked toward her and she felt like everything slowed. </p><p>But when Lola climbed up the steps this time, she was greeted with something else.</p><p>She saw Maya. And she was with someone. The someone was tall and smiling brightly and everything Lola was not. </p><p>Jealousy burned hot in her stomach but dissolved into a sadness that Lola could taste. Lola breathed in and looked away just as the girl stepped closer to Maya. Maya was her friend. Maya was laughing with that other girl and Lola was jealous and sad and also happy that Maya was happy. Because Maya deserved to be happy. </p><p>She had convinced herself Maya had moved on. This shouldn’t have been surprising to her but it was and it stung. So Lola kept walking forward. </p><p>Lola found her way to the circle of chairs where Maya had introduced her to La Mif the first time she came here. </p><p>“Look who it is!” Jo shouted, motioning for Lola to sit down in the chair next to hers. Lola did, smiling. </p><p>“Hello, Lola,” Sekou said. “It’s nice to see you.” </p><p>His words were always gentle, always considerate, as if he was handpicking them and offering them to whoever he encountered.</p><p>Max was sitting next to him. He nodded tightly. There was an unspoken tension between them. He was the most intimidating of them all to Lola, but even still there was a softness to him. He was wary of Lola and he was guarded. The former was the result of being Maya’s closest friend and the latter reminded Lola of Maya herself. </p><p>“Hi,” Lola said.</p><p>They were planning their next urbex session. Lola faded in and out of the conversation, focusing on trying to see Maya in the distance. Lola couldn’t tell if the person she was talking to was the same girl as before or someone else. Lola supposed that it didn’t really matter. </p><p>Lola was squinting but she was pretty sure she could see the girl lean in closer to Maya. She thought Maya might be leaning in too, but then she turned. Now Maya was walking toward them, toward Lola. She saw Lola watching her and smiled. Lola felt the urge to turn her head away, her cheeks burning with the embarrassment of being caught watching her. But she liked seeing Maya smile, so she stared and smiled back.</p><p>Lola could feel Max looking back and forth between them. When Maya paused to get a bottle of water from the table she passed by, Lola looked away.</p><p>“Has Maya...” Lola began, feeling Max’s eyes still on her as Sekou and Jo discussed Jo’s ability to break a padlock. Lola faltered. It wasn’t her right to know. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to.</p><p>But Max answered anyway.</p><p>“No,” he said curtly. “Not since Char.”</p><p>The “or you” went unspoken. Their whirlwind relationship had lasted all of twelve days. She knew that Maya would have told Max everything, and Jo and Sekou were vaguely aware of it. </p><p>Lola remembered watching Max talk about meeting Maya’s new girlfriend, the “eighteenth of the year,” on Instagram. And now Maya had been single for months. </p><p>“Oh,” Lola said softly.</p><p>“I’m not surprised,” Max said, and Lola turned to face him.</p><p>“Why not?” Lola asked, her voice small.</p><p>Max tilted his head forward, giving Lola a pointed look.</p><p>“I’m not surprised,” Max repeated, moving his gaze to the fire in front of them. </p><p>The words echoed in Lola’s head, and then Maya sat down in front of her. </p><p>“Hi,” she said, addressing everyone but not taking her eyes off of Lola. </p><p>The fire made her eyes glow as the light danced across her face. Lola lifted her hand for a slight wave, then dropped it back into her lap. </p><p>“Lola, look,” Jo said, pulling her eyes away from Maya. Jo had a piece of paper in her hand, with a rough sketch of a girl in a crown with a sword.</p><p>“Princess ninja?” Lola asked, laughing. </p><p>“Exactly!” Jo said, excited. “It’s beautiful, I know. I mean, I don’t have a plot yet. Or characters. Or anything really.”</p><p>Lola laughed again, and they sent a picture of it to Eliott. She thought about how she must look, sitting here with these people who are talking and smiling and alive and wonderful. She thought about how she felt heavy with love and light with laughter at the same time. She was in this moment and she was above it, watching it. Because she knew what it looked like, because she had watched it a thousand times. In the movies, in books, in the small moments her sister had with all of her friends. Lola had watched it and been separate, and now she was here and happy. </p><p>Lola enjoyed the warmth of friendship. She basked in the feeling all night. </p><p>“I have to go,” Lola said, a few hours later. When they all looked at her, confused by why she was leaving so early, she continued. “I want to run in the morning.”</p><p>She did run now. It was one of her new routines — her therapist had recommended it.</p><p>“I love running,” Sekou said, smiling at Lola. Lola nodded. It fit him. </p><p>“I think I’m going to go, too,” Maya said. She stood up as Lola did, and they walked together to the stairs.</p><p>“I didn’t know you ran,” Maya said, turning to Lola.</p><p>“Well, I’m kinda new to it,” Lola replied, smiling. </p><p>“You can come with me, if you want,” Lola added, half-joking. She could imagine Maya doing a lot of things, but running was not one of them. </p><p>“Okay,” Maya said, and Lola froze. “I don’t have work tomorrow. What time?” </p><p>“Seven?” she asked, still slightly shocked by the situation. Maya nodded.</p><p>“Seven.”</p><p>———</p><p>Lola could hear the birds performing their morning songs from the trees near her apartment. She sat on the sidewalk and tied her running shoes. They were brand new — Thierry had just bought them, a gentle peace offering. She was talking to him more now. Their conversations were awkward and clumsy, but nice. She wondered how she would feel about him when she was older.</p><p>Lola got up, and started lightly jogging to Maya’s. Lola liked the air in the morning, fresh and sweet. She also liked the early morning rituals she ran by — old men getting the newspaper, shop owners setting out chairs. She had never thought she could ever be a morning person, but it was hard for her to not like the time of day where everything was new and hopeful. It was just unfortunate that she also liked staying up late. </p><p>Her early morning runs always reminded her of her mother, of the good times, when she would hold Lola’s hand and take her to school, jumping over the puddles with her and kicking rocks. On the extra good days, she would leave a little note in Lola’s coat pocket with an “XOXOO” or “XOXOX” because “sometimes you need an extra hug, and sometimes you need an extra kiss.” Lola wondered how many extra hugs and kisses were hidden in the letters she left balled up and thrown into the trash. Because every good trip to school was tangled with a bad one, ones where Lola walked home all alone even though her mother had said she would come for her. Lola wished she could have uncomplicated feelings for her mother. Lola was beginning to think there was no such thing as uncomplicated feelings. </p><p>Lola was running faster now, and she hadn’t realize how much distance she had covered until she had passed the bakery right next to Maya’s apartment. She was brought back from her thoughts by Maya, who was already outside when Lola got to her building. She had her hair in pigtails, which Lola thought may have been the cutest thing she had ever seen.</p><p>“I’m ready!” she said, beaming at Lola when she spotted her.</p><p>“I can’t believe we are actually doing this,” Lola said, laughing as she began to catch her breath. “I can’t believe YOU are actually doing this.”</p><p>“I like spending time with you,” Maya shrugged, kneeling down the fix her shoelaces. “And I like walking in the morning. So how bad can this be?”</p><p>“I like spending time with you, too,” Lola said, smiling into the collar of her jacket.</p><p>Maya liked walking in the morning. Lola stored the fact away. Sometimes Lola forgot how little she actually knew about Maya because she felt like she already understood her. </p><p>“Ready?” Lola asked after they stretched. Maya nodded. </p><p>They started running at, well, a very slow pace. Despite this, Lola could hear Maya’s breathing accelerate. When she looked at her, Maya’s brow was furrowed, like she was concentrated on not tripping and angry at her own legs. Lola giggled, a breathy sort of laughter that caused Maya to look up at her. Maya’s frustration at her own lack of coordination melted into an expression that made Lola wish she had her camera. It was soft and warm, and so distracting that Lola almost ran into a pole, and now it was Maya’s turn to laugh.  </p><p>They continued running, neither of them speaking. There were different types of quiet, Lola was realizing. There was the empty quiet of being alone and lonely, there was the peaceful quiet of reading or taking a bath, and there was this. The quiet that felt full.</p><p>Lola liked running with Maya. And Maya liked spending time with Lola. The running, however, was evidently less fun.</p><p>“I think I need to pause,” Maya said after about twenty minutes, her breathing slightly erratic. Lola nodded, slowing down to a walk.</p><p>“Not the same as walking?” Lola teased, and Maya rolled her eyes.</p><p>“You know, I remember a girl who once got out of breath playing a frisbee game,” she responded. Her breathing was calming but her cheeks were still flushed red. </p><p>Lola laughed.</p><p>“I love it when you laugh,” Maya said quietly. So quietly that Lola wondered if Maya even knew she had said it out loud. </p><p>“You make it easy,” Lola said, just as quietly. </p><p>They were walking side by side, watching the streets of Paris wake up. As they walked, Maya’s knuckles brushed up against Lola’s. It was quick, but Lola had felt both of their hands pause, enjoying the brief contact, before continuing the journey of swinging by their sides.</p><p>Maya had put her hair down, and it was slightly sticking to her face, obstructing part of Maya’s cheek from Lola. Lola wanted to tuck the offending strands behind Maya’s ear, to restore Maya’s face to its calm equilibrium so she could see her clearly. </p><p>Lola hadn’t realized that they had stopped walking. The sun was brighter now, and they had found themselves wandering in from the streets and into an empty park. Or maybe the park wasn’t empty and Lola just didn’t see the other people, because she couldn’t remember the last time in the past five minutes that she hadn’t been looking at Maya.  </p><p>When Lola caught Maya’s eyes, she felt as if they were miles apart. Not because they were physically distant, or because she felt removed and passive, but because she couldn’t fit everything she felt in that moment into the space between them. There was a warm thrumming in her heart that spread to her mouth and made her smile, spread to her eyes and made them almost water, spread to her hands and made her want to reach out to Maya. Lola felt like she was constantly reaching out to Maya, or at least constantly wanting to. Not for any reason, just so she could know the other girl was there, just so she could see if she would reach back. </p><p>And Maya was looking at Lola like she was bigger than she was, like she had taken up all the space between them and was the only thing she could see.</p><p>But that space between them, as gigantic as it felt to Lola, was slowly decreasing. They were both leaning in, and Lola could tell where this was going and her heart stuttered in her chest, and the words fell out of her mouth. </p><p>“Can I kiss you?”</p><p>She needed the confirmation, she needed Maya to say yes so she could know that this moment was real and happening. They were so close that Lola’s eyes were beginning to lose focus of Maya, and she could see the words puff against Maya’s mouth. </p><p>“Yes,” Maya breathed out, and the distance between them closed. </p><p>She tasted like strawberries and sweat and Maya, and Lola thought she probably shouldn’t have loved it as much as she did. </p><p>Maya’s hands had reached up to grab Lola’s head, her thumb running over the skin behind Lola’s ear and her fingers wrapped in her hair. Lola brushed one of her hands over Maya’s body, from the curve of her hip to her back to the skin of Maya’s neck hidden behind her hair. She used her hand’s new home to pull Maya closer to her.</p><p>It was their second first kiss and they still had so much to talk about but right now Lola could only focus on how Maya’s mouth was moving on hers. It felt different from the first time, when Lola had been feverish and restless, turning her head and searching for new angles, new ways to explore Maya and the way she felt against her. Lola remembered how Maya had told her to breathe as she rubbed their noses together. </p><p>But this time they were slow. Maya was cradling Lola’s head between her hands and it was early in the morning — there was no rush. </p><p>Maya smiled against her lips. “Maybe I do like running.” They laughed and their lips broke apart. They rested their foreheads together. Maya used her thumb to catch a tear that had been rolling down Lola’s face, moving her head to kiss the faint stain it left on Lola’s cheek. Lola hadn’t even realized she had been crying. </p><p>They stood together in the park for a few more minutes as the sun began to peak out from the trees and covered them in the morning light.</p>
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